Letters to the Editor

In response to Wanda Jo Stapleton’s letter “Questioning Progress” (Nov. 18) ” yes, Wanda Jo, yes it is. It may not be the progress you envisioned in the past, but those railway battles have been fought, that war has been waged, and (cue salient metaphor) that train’s already left the station.   The planned regional transit […]

Mayor Mick Cornett says if we pass MAPS 3 we will not have a tax increase. But if we do not pass MAPS 3 and six months later we pass the inevitable MAPS 4, will that be a tax increase? Or, will our taxes decrease if we do not pass MAPS 3? Congressional candidate and […]

Voting “yes” for MAPS has proven to be the best choice for OKC on MAPS 1 and MAPS 2. Trusting the process and the visible results of these two programs, I choose to fully support MAPS 3 with my ‘yes’ vote on Dec. 8, 2009. Union business agents have no good intention opposing our city’s […]

Oklahoma City said “yes” to a dream when its citizens voted in favor of a set of initiatives that forever changed the face of our city 16 years ago. We said “yes” to a new arena, the Ford Center, that now houses Oklahoma’s first professional sports team, the OKC Thunder. We said yes to a […]

Imposing a new MAPS tax on OKC residents is economic insanity. Sensible people don’t build expensive, unnecessary projects at the beginning of a depression. But our City Council is in fantasyland. The national economy is collapsing, dragging states and towns with it. Unemployment, bankruptcies and foreclosures are rising. Tax collections are falling. The Oklahoma budget […]

My mother, who died in 2004, was aware of the things poor families needed. So throughout the year she would look out for useful, “poor family things” at garage sales and thrift stores. I remember her excitement at buying a set of knives, spoons and forks ” all for just 25 cents. At the end […]

Planners of the first MAPS sales tax projects launched new pride in our city’s appearance, development and national reputation. The problem is that sales taxes always fall most heavily upon middle-income and lower-income families, while benefits of MAPS projects ” particularly the proposals for MAPS 3 ” all feed the investment dreams of Oklahoma City’s […]

The MAPS 3 proposal provides a substantive, responsible first step toward a comprehensive regional transit system. If there is any one element in MAPS that is truly and defiantly “citizen initiated,” it is the MAPS transit proposal. Undoubtedly, for many years, grassroots activism has surrounded the desire for a workable local and commuter transit system. […]

With all due respect to the honorable mayor, he needs to get better writers to help him with his letters: These sweeping, Obama-esque proclamations of unity and togetherness are empty and tired. Unbeknownst to you, Mayor Mick Cornett, some of us are fans of the early seasons of “The Simpsons” and remember “Marge vs. the […]

I am a longtime supporter of our Oklahoma City employees, including our excellent police and fire departments. However, I am disappointed to learn the police and fire union representatives have decided at the last minute to oppose MAPS 3. No one can argue we need to support our firefighters and police officers with whatever means […]